The Caspian (Metro Exodus Level)
The Caspian is the seventh overall level featured in Metro Exodus, and the second of the open world levels. Dealing with the fallout from Mount Yamantau, the Aurora heads south in search of the Caspian-1 facility. Overview Plot Several months after their encounter with the cannibals at Mt Yamantau, the Aurora heads south into Kazakhstan, and to the Caspian Sea, where Miller hopes to find the Caspian-1 Satellite Control Center. However. the heat has had a negative effect on the crew, with Stepan suffering from heatstroke, and the Aurora running low on supplies. As the Aurora is passing a ruined hamlet, a vehicle races by, with two bandits audibly shouting at the train and using a radio. Coming to a stop at a nearby train station, Miller orders all available hands to the deck, however only Artyom, Damir, Anna and Krest are in fighting form, whilst the rest are sick. Miller orders Artyom to double back to the ruins to find traces of the van they saw and find any signs that point to the communications center, whilst Anna and Damir are ordered to search for fuel and water. Artyom makes his way through a sudden sandstorm to the ruins, where he finds a bandit outpost being besieged by Humanimals. Fighting his way through, Artyom is confronted on the roof by the leader of the outpost and the owner of the van, whom Artyom can either kill or subdue. Artyom is set upon by a large group of Humanimals when approaching the van, but is assisted by Damir, who came to offer support to Artyom after the sandstorm. He informs Artyom of the location of a nearby Radar Array that may give clues to the location of the communications center. Rather than travelling across the hot desert on foot, Artyom utilizes the bandits van to make his way to the next location. In the distance Artyom is able to see the dried out Caspian Sea, littered with the rusting husks of container ships and along with a dilapidated lighthouse situated on the same island formation where the Radar Array is located. Miller radios into both Artyom and Damir, telling them to get to the lighthouse as soon as possible. A local woman named Giul is being besieged by bandits and has offered Miller information on the facility in return for helping her against the Munai-bailer. Artyom makes his way through a heavily booby-trapped cave system to flank the attackers from the rear, where Giul reveals to him the local bandits are the Munai-Bailer, the oil riggers who lay claim to the area and have a tight grip on the water and fuel sources, as well as enslaving the local populace. Giul guides Artyom to the communications facility located below the lighthouse, she reveals to him that her mother was an officer at the facility and she lived there at the outbreak of the war. After turning the auxiliary power on, Giul stays at the entrance to keep the power running and wait for Damir to arrive. Going deep underground, Artyom finds the facility in bad shape, with Spiderbugs having created a nest for themselves as well as toxic air seeping in from cracks in the walls. Artyom eventually finds the satellite maps deep within the heart of the facility and meets up with Giul and Damir at the entrance to the facility. Giul informs the two about the Baron, the leader of the Munai-bailer, and how he has set up shop on the oil rig across the bay from the lighthouse. Damir tells Artyom that Anna is nearby awaiting assistance and that Miller is expecting him at the train station. Artyom is then free to explore the landscape and undertake several optional objectives for Anna, who has set up a sniper's nest in the wreck of an old ship. Back at the station, Miller tasks Idiot with decoding the maps and reveals Alyosha, Stepan and Duke are all down with heat stroke and will not last much longer. He then tasks Artyom and Damir to infiltrate the local water source and obtain water for the crew and the train. Artyom rendezvous with Damir at an abandoned village built into a cave system. Damir laments the fact that they did not arrive sooner to help his people, and notes that they devolved rapidly after the war, creating cave paintings more akin to neanderthals. They make their way through a large underground settlement but are soon faced with hordes of Humanimals. As they fight their way through, they exit the cave system near a giant underground well, where the Munai-bailer use slaves to extract the water. The duo split up, with Damir aiming for a large water tank truck, and Artyom going for the gate controls. As he opens the gates, Damir drives the truck out of the compound, with Artyom leaping on top to make a quick getaway. Damir remarks that they are not being followed as Artyom drifts off to sleep on the drive back to the station. Waking some hours later, Artyom is caught up in the middle of a firefight between the crew of the Aurora and Munai-bailer bandits. They are no match for the Spartans, but Miller, tired of being stuck in the Caspian, kick starts plans to leave. With enough water to get the crew back into fighting form, and to fill the tanks of the Aurora, Miller tasks Damir, Artyom and Giul to infiltrate the Baron's fortress and steal a rail car full of fuel. Once again Artyom and Damir rendezvous near the oil rig, with Giul stating it would be easier to infiltrate the facility through the tunnels leading to the slave quarters. Artyom infiltrates the facility, going through the kennels, and a fighting arena before meeting back up with Damir, who reveals Giul has gone AWOL, and they are unable to open the gates. Over the loudspeaker, the Baron invites Artyom up to the rig with a proposition. The bandits are cautious, but allow Artyom safe passage, where he witnesses brutality towards the slaves and the engineering capabilities of the Munai-bailer as well the various vices and women they indulge themselves in. Reaching the top, Artyom is greeted into the lavish quarters of the Baron, with slaves and concubines on hand. He says he respects people with a goal, and notes that Artyom's goal is clearly not in the Caspian Sea. He proposes a truce, and offers as much fuel and water as the Aurora can handle in return for Giul, who he has been fighting for many years. However, before Artyom can respond, Giul makes herself known and guns down several of the Baron's men. The Baron locks himself in the next room, as Artyom and Giul fight off many of the slavers. Giul climbs around to give chase to the Baron and leaves Artyom to deal with a heavily armed bandit. Damir moves in to support Artyom as they finish off the bandits. As they break into the Baron's quarters, they see Giul being held over the side of the oil rig as the Baron prepares to kill her. An explosion below knocks her off, but Damir is able to grab hold of her before she falls. The Baron goes for Artyom and attempts to choke him with his cane. The rest of the Aurora crew has moved into the compound below and Anna is able to shoot the Baron before he can kill Artyom. Outcomes Based on the players actions during this chapter, the ending can go two ways. * After killing the Baron, Giul thanks the Spartans and remarks that her war has just begun, and she must see it to the winning end. If the player has not obtained enough moral points, then Damir will stay behind and assist Giul in her fight, telling Artyom that this is where he belongs, with his people. Artyom then uses the zipline to rejoin his comrades down below. Later, Damir can be heard on the radio in the Aurora, informing the crew on the situation after their departure. * If the player has obtained enough moral points throughout the chapter, then Giul will thank the pair and leave, but Damir will rejoin Artyom aboard the Aurora. Collectibles On this level, there are a total of 12 notes and 5 postcards. Like the Volga level, most can be obtained in any order the player chooses, with the exception of the postcard in the lighthouse and the documents inside the bunker. * Postcard 10 - Next to the Aurora there are a couple of abandoned buildings. The postcard will be in the westernmost hut, pinned right next to the door. * First mate's diary - About halfway between Saul's outpost and the lighthouse, there is a large ship in the middle of the road. Enter the ship and go upstairs. To your immediate right you will see a slave praying to the Holy Flame. The diary will be on the table. * Leader's diary - Climb the ladder onto the deck above. Go inside the cabin and climb upstairs. The diary will be on the table to your right, next to the radio. * Letter to son - Once you get to the lighthouse and zipline into the cave, follow the path until you reach a natural (rock) bridge over a ravine. Before you cross it, look in the corner to your left. There should be a letter next to a corpse. * Postcard 11 - When you finally reach the lighthouse and take the elevator up, you can grab the postcard pinned on the door frame at the entrance. Note that you will not be able to return to this location if you miss it, and will have to reload the level. * Memo - In the office area of the bunker, go to the office left of the exit. You will find the memo on the desk, next to the typewriter. * Image analysis - After you go through the washrooms and down a hallway, you will have to open a locked door by going to the control room to your right. The note will be on the table next to the control panel. * Last orders - After you acquire the radiation map, go into the meeting room to your right when you exit the room. The note should be on the table. * Diary fragments - Directly north of the Aurora, there is a rusted out ship next to some hills. Go into the cabin and up to the hermit's room. The note will be on the crate next to the door. * Baron's letter - On your way to the oasis, you will pass by the entrance to a camp, marked by some vehicles and large, rusted out ship on a hill. The letter is on a stool under an umbrella, next to the truck with the cages. The camp is west of the lighthouse and south of the oasis. * Death note - Going further into the camp, you will find the Baron's men engaged in a firefight with the slave leader. After you've dealt with the Munai-bailer, the leader will shoot himself in the head. You can find his suicide note on a barrel that his body is leaning against, after you climb the ladder to his hideout. * Postcard 13 - Once you get to the oasis, follow Damir. After you slide down a slope, look inside the cabin of a rusted ship. The postcard will be pinned right next to the door. * Letter to the artist - From the cabin, go back and climb up a ramp and across a rock formation (which you had previously passed under). At the end of a metal catwalk on the other side, you will find the letter on a radio next to a sleeping bag. * Charred note - On your way to the oil derrick, you will come across a large ship, which is being used to imprison slaves. In front of the ship, there is a small outpost on the road. Climb the catwalk with the yellow railings and collect the note sitting on the crate. * Postcard 12 - Once you zipline to the ship, make your way to the main control room. The postcard is on the wall pinned between the entrance and the electric panel. * Shopping list - In the same room, you can find the list on the radar panel right next to the electric panel. * Postcard 14 - South of the ship, you can find an abandoned air base. Once there, look inside the hangar. In the back of the hangar, there should be a postcard pinned to a wooden crate. Weapon attachments *Heavy Stock for Kalash, Bulldog and Shambler - the best attachment in its category for these three weapons, can be found in the abandoned helicopter base, in the lower floors of the control tower. * 60-round magazine for Bulldog - Following the coastal road westward from the large shipwreck that serves as a prison for the slaves, close to the centre of the map, there is another shipwreck next to the road that is marked as a mutant lair on the map (red mutant skull in a triangle). The ship is split in two and the magazine is located in the bridge of the ship. You'll need to climb up some nearby rocks and then run and jump onto the side of the bridge to get inside. Quicksave beforehand, as some players have reported that if you fall into the hole in the floor of the bridge, there's no way back out. * Green laser sight - Directly above (north) of the Aurora's position on the map, at the end of a small canyon along with a shotgun silencer. Also in a small shed to the right of the control tower at the helicopter base. * Six shot cylinder for the Shambler - At the top of the control tower in the helicopter base, as well as inside the large split ship that the slaves are dismantling. Related Achievements/Trophies Trivia * South east of the lighthouse on the coast is a small camp, where the Bastard's box magazine can be found. If one activates the Hookah pipe, Artyom will then begin having hallucinations involving the Baby Dark One from Metro Last Light. Gallery ME - new objectives.jpg|Miller is giving the assignments. ME - Caspian-1.jpg|Caspian-1 SATCOM center. ME - baron's penthouse.jpg|The Baron's penthouse. ru:Каспий (уровень) Category:Metro Exodus Levels